The Oklahoma City Thunder defeated the Los Angeles Lakers 108-90 in Game 1 of their Western Conference semifinals series on Tuesday night.
Chet Holmgren led the Thunder with 24 points and 12 rebounds, while Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Ajay Mitchell each added 18 points.
The defending champions improved to 5-0 in the playoffs, despite missing Jalen Williams with an injured left hamstring for the third straight game.
Oklahoma City shot 49.4% from the field and made 13 of 30 three-pointers.
Meanwhile, the Lakers struggled to find offense without superstar Luka Doncic as he missed the past month with an injured left hamstring.
LeBron James led Los Angeles with 27 points and Rui Hachimura added 18 points.
The Thunder won all four regular-season matchups by an average of 29.3 points, and this one was only slightly closer.
Oklahoma City held the Lakers to 41.7% shooting and forced 17 turnovers.
James scored 12 points in the opening quarter as the Lakers ran out to a 7-0 lead and the Thunder went up 31-26 at the end of the first.
Holmgren hit a two-handed alley-oop dunk on a lob from Isaiah Hartenstein to put the Thunder up 48-39.
Oklahoma City led 61-53 at halftime, despite 16 points from James.
Unfortunately for the Lakers, Jarred Vanderbilt injured the pinkie finger on his right hand on the play, left the game and did not return.
Alex Caruso finished a fastbreak dunk early in the fourth to put the Thunder up 88-73 and remained in control from there.
Oklahoma City will host Game 2 on Thursday.
